United States v. Cisneros-Gutierrez

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Evidence

EvidenceFourth AmendmentConsent SearchExigent CircumstancesProtective SweepCurtilagePolice-Created ExigencySearch Warrant

Facts

Officers investigating methamphetamine trafficking conducted a knock-and-talk at 430 Donnelly Avenue, where Garcia-Bobadilla and Alfredo gave verbal and written consent to search after officers entered and verified whether others were present; the search produced methamphetamine and cutting agent. During that search, Hernandez-Pena told officers that Alfredo's brothers lived at 3907 East 12th Terrace, possessed large quantities of narcotics and firearms, and served as enforcers for the organization. At East 12th Terrace, after officers identified themselves at the door, Ortiz and King saw Gerardo delay and saw Alfonso carry plastic bags to the kitchen sink and appear to wash their contents down the drain, then move objects from a bedroom out of view. Officers entered with guns drawn, detained the brothers, performed a cursory protective sweep, obtained a warrant, and later recovered methamphetamine, cash, and firearms; Alfredo and Alfonso later made inculpatory statements after Miranda warnings and waivers.

Issue

Whether the searches and resulting statements should have been suppressed because consent at Donnelly Avenue was involuntary, the East 12th Terrace entry lacked exigent circumstances or probable cause, officers violated curtilage or manufactured the exigency, and the protective sweep and later warrant were unlawful. The court also considered whether Alfonso's consecutive five-year sentence under § 924(c)(1)(A) was improper because he received a longer mandatory minimum on the predicate drug offense.

Rule

A warrantless residential search is valid if voluntary consent is given under the totality of the circumstances. Warrantless entry into a residence is permitted when exigent circumstances exist, such as imminent destruction of evidence, and officers also have probable cause to believe evidence of crime will be found there. A protective sweep is permissible when articulable facts and rational inferences would warrant a reasonably prudent officer in believing the area harbors an individual posing a danger. Police do not impermissibly create an exigency merely by using a reasonable knock-and-talk; the inquiry is whether the investigative tactics foreseeably increased the likelihood of the exigency.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In St. Louis, officers investigating cocaine distribution knocked on an apartment door at 7:00 a.m. Nina Flores opened the door, the officers identified themselves, and she invited them inside to talk. After the officers asked whether anyone else was present and briefly confirmed the apartment was otherwise empty, Nina and her roommate Omar Vega both signed a consent-to-search form after an officer translated it into Spanish; the trial judge credits officer testimony that no guns were displayed and no threats or promises were made.

If Omar later moves to suppress the drugs found in the apartment, how should the court most likely rule?

Explanation. A warrantless residential search is valid if a resident voluntarily consents. Voluntariness is determined from the totality of the circumstances, including the person’s characteristics and the environment of the encounter. Here, the judge credited testimony that the officers did not display weapons, threaten, or promise anything, and that the form was explained in Spanish before Nina and Omar signed it. Those facts support a finding that the consent was the product of a free and unconstrained choice. (Derived from United States v. Cisneros-Gutierrez (n.d.).)